STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2509

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2130

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2130 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUNTING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Land and Natural Resources to amend its administrative rules to increase by twenty percent on each island the total acreage of public lands designated as public hunting areas for the hunting of game birds and game mammals; and

(2) Require a report to the Legislature.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy, Native Hawaiian Gathering Rights Association, and six individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Animal Rights Hawaiʻi and one individual.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Kapapala Ranch; and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Land and Natural Resources currently allows hunting on approximately seven hundred thousand acres of land managed by the Division of Forestry and Wildlife in addition to hunting permitted on certain unencumbered and state parks lands. Expanding hunting in the State can function to both preserve cultural and social connections and promote ecological balance. Therefore, this measure will serve as a tool for invasive species population control, provide supplemental food for communities, and further the State's sustainability goals.

Your Committee notes the concern raised in testimony by the Hawaii Cattlemen's Council that the increase of public land designated as public hunting areas by this measure may impede farming and ranching operations and food production. Amendments to this measure are therefore necessary to address this concern.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have required the Department of Land and Natural Resources to increase, by twenty percent on each of the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii, the total acreage of public lands that are designated as public hunting areas for the hunting of game birds and game mammals;

(2) Inserting language that requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to identify the public lands on each of the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii, that are the most appropriate for becoming designated as public hunting areas for the hunting of game birds and game mammals without conflicting with other land uses;

(3) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;

(4) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2130, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2130, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts,

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CHRIS LEE, Chair